Beer Man: Sam Adams rolls out new tastes with barrel-aged beers

Jul. 25, 2012

Written by

Todd Haefer

For The Post-Crescent

New World

Samuel Adams has introduced a nationwide rollout of Barrel Room Collection ales that previously were only available in selected markets.

The first one I sampled — New World — is a Belgian tripel style in a corked, 750-ml bottle that hits all the right notes. It’s fruity, spicy, smooth and with a bit of an alcohol kick in the aftertaste.

New World pours a dark gold with a white head that shrinks quickly but doesn’t totally disappear, leaving delicate lacing on the sides of the glass. I’ve noticed that a lot of high-alcohol beers of all style types tend to have weak heads, but I have sampled others — mostly from Belgium — that have huge rocky heads that stick around.

The label says to expect tropical fruit characteristics — my first impression was of banana and pear in the aroma, which followed through into the flavor. The banana became more like bubblegum as sugar and vanilla flavors kicked in.

There were background hints of orange and lemon, and a slight peppery spiciness. The carbonation was medium-high, which worked well to keep the sweetness from being too much. The body was creamy and solid without being heavy.

The 12-month barrel aging resulted in a beer that is ready to make the move from the shelf to your taste buds without additional aging.

The oak is much more prominent in the 9-percent ABV Thirteenth Hour ale. While vanilla was the main result of the barrel aging in New World, in Thirteenth Hour it provides an earthiness without venturing into leather territory.

This is a very complex beer, with chocolate, caramel, vanilla, coffee and plums coming through strongly. There is a background hint of banana from the yeast and the roasted malts give it a bittersweet chocolate feel. The body is more in line with a Belgian duppel than a stout, while the flavors straddle both Belgian duppel and English stout styles. If you’re intrigued by such a cross, this should be right up your alley.

While Samuel Adams beers are available nationwide, these two will only be available in limited amounts. On the bottom left of the brewery’s home Web page is a “Find a Sam Near You” zip code locator link.